Apparatus and method for remote viewing system

ABSTRACT

An energy conserving remote viewing system comprising an instantaneous analog video transmission camera, an analog video receiver that receives and transmits a video image to a video monitor and a remote transmitter that activates the analog video transmission camera. The remote camera device is normally in a low power, sleep mode that has a minimal power drain. The system includes a battery powered camera requiring a first voltage to operate and an RF transmitter to send an activation signal to the camera. The activation signal has a duration. A camera power circuit includes a normally sleeping signal receiving circuit and a first timer. The first timer periodically activates the signal receiving circuit to check for the presence of the activation signal and turns off the signal receiving circuit if the activation signal is not present and turns on the camera if the activation signal is present, and wherein the time the signal receiving circuit sleeps is less than the activation signal duration.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

Applicant claims priority under 35 USC 119 to provisional patentapplication 60/704,385 filed Aug. 1, 2005. This is a continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 11/440,673 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,609,952, filed May25, 2006.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to an energy conserving video monitoring systemfor monitoring a remote location at a distance. In particular thisinvention relates to an apparatus and method to view a remote locationwith a battery powered camera that uses a minimum of energy.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Often times there is a need to remotely monitor a location. For examplethere may be a need to monitor an elderly person or a young child. Itmay be desirable to remotely monitor for the presence of mail in a mailbox as in applicant's own U.S. Pat. No. 6,879,255. Or it may bedesirable to remotely monitor equipment, wildlife or for security forexample. In many of these applications there may not be power readilyavailable and a remote camera may need to operate on batteries. In thesesituations a common problem is that the camera battery can run out ofpower fairly quickly forcing the user to travel to the remote locationto replace a battery. Solar power can be used but can be expensive andunreliable in many locations.

Applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 6,879,255 provides a system for remotelymonitoring for mail in a mailbox. The system provides a battery 16 for aremote camera 18 in the mailbox. The system provides a sleep mode, wherethe camera 18 and lights are not on all the time, only when needed toconserve battery power. But it has been found that the system stilldraws significant power in sleep mode, waiting for a signal fromtransmitter 38 to turn the camera on.

As can be seen, there is a need for a remote monitoring system that willuse less power and thus require less effort to operate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is an instantaneous remote viewing systemcomprising; a battery powered camera requiring a first voltage tooperate and an RF transmitter to send an activation signal to thecamera. The activation signal has a duration. A camera power circuitincludes a normally sleeping signal receiving circuit and a first timerwherein the first timer periodically activates the signal receivingcircuit to check for the presence of the activation signal. The timerturns off the signal receiving circuit if the activation signal is notpresent and turns on the camera if the activation signal is present andwherein the time the signal receiving circuit sleeps is less than theactivation signal duration. Such that the remote viewing system canconserve battery power by keeping the receiving circuit off except forduring periods that are slightly shorter than the duration of anactivation signal such that an activation signal will not be missed.

Further the present invention includes a voltage booster circuit tomaximize the usable power from a battery. The booster will boost batteryvoltage up to at least a minimum required by the camera.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, closely related items have the same number butdifferent alphabetic suffixes.

FIG. 1 shows the apparatus of the preferred system.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the circuit of the device.

FIG. 3 shows a flow chart for the operation of the device.

FIG. 4 shows a comparison of the activation signal to the timer period

DESCRIPTION—FIG. 1

FIG. 1 shows the remote viewing camera system 10. The remote viewingcamera system 10 can include a control transmitter 20, a remote camerasystem 30, a receiver 40 and a monitor 50. The control transmitter 20can include a button 22 used to activate the remote camera system 30, towake it up from a sleep mode. The control transmitter 20 can alsoinclude buttons 24 to remotely control the position of the camera 34,button 26 to control sound transmitted from remote camera system 30 andbutton 28 to control a light 32 associated with the remote camera system30. The control transmitter 20 can include an antenna 29 to send anencoded control signal S1 to remote camera system 30.

The remote camera system 30 can include a light 32 and a camera 34. Thecamera can include a dome housing 36 and the camera will include cameracontrol circuit 38. The remote camera system can send a signal S2 to areceiver 40 that can receive the signal S2 and convert it to a formatthat can be displayed on a monitor 50 that might be a computer or homeTV.

Description—FIG. 2

The camera control circuit 38 receives a signal S1 from controltransmitter 20. The camera circuit control 38 can include a battery 100that provides the main power source. The battery 100 can be arechargeable battery that has a solar powered charger 102. Power fromthe battery 100 can be applied to two timer circuits 110 and 112. Thetimer circuit 110 runs constantly but uses very little power. The timercircuit 110 counts a preset amount of time, typically in the range of afew seconds and then activates switch 120 to activate the receiverdecoder circuit 122. The receiver decoder circuit 122 still uses verylittle power but more than the timer circuit 110. When activated thereceiver decoder circuit checks for the presence of activation signalS1. If the activation signal S1 is present then the receiver decodercircuit 122 sends a trigger signal S3 that activates the second timer112 that in turn closes switch 130 to apply camera power 132 to remotecamera system 30 which includes camera 34 and video transmitter circuit140. Power 114 applied to the timer circuits 110, 112 can be very low,power 116 to receiver decoder circuit 122 may be higher and power 132 tothe remote camera will be the highest with the camera 34 requiringvoltage in the 8 volt range for example. When the signal S1 is no longerpresent and when a set time has passed with camera 34 on, the timer 112can send a signal S4 to turn camera 34 off. Thus the camera circuit 38has a dual sleep mode where the camera 34 and nearly all circuitry incircuit 38 except timer 110 sleeps until a signal S1 is received.

The circuit 38 can include an alternate sensor 150 that might closeswitch 120 based on receiving a local signal such as movement or soundin the remotely monitored location. Thus movement of an animal, or anelderly parent calling for help could close switch 120 and power upreceiver decoder 122. Alternately, for some applications, the motiondetector 150 would apply a signal to the receiver decoder 122 that couldonly be detected when the timer 110 has the receiver detector 122 awake.

The camera power 132 comes from a step up voltage booster 131. Thevoltage booster 131 can boost the voltage of a battery up to meet aminimum threshold required by the camera 34. For example, if the battery100 is going dead and its voltage has dropped below the minimum, thevoltage booster will increase the battery voltage so that more power canbe drained from the battery 100 to extend the camera 34 operating time.So if for example, the battery 100 was a 9 volt battery to power acamera that needed roughly 8 volts, experience has shown that when thebatteries dropped to 7 volts the camera 34 would stop working wastingthe remaining power.

The battery 100 currently used is three 1.5 volt AA batteries that arehooked in series to give 4.5 volts. The receiver 122 and timers 110 and112 can operate directly on battery voltage. The camera 34 runs onapproximately 8 volts, so to operate on the three AA battery 100 thevoltage must be boosted.

In the preferred embodiment, battery power 100 is wired in parallel withsolar cell 102. Battery 100 is preferred to be 3 rechargeable AAbatteries but other voltages and types of batteries may be used. Thepreferred analog video camera 34 is miniature, a low power, black andwhite, CMOS unit as is known in the art. Color CMOS units may also beused. The preferred analog video camera 34 operates on a standardtransmission frequency of approximately 2.4 GHz, with a voltage range of6 to 12 volts at a power output of 50 to 200 mw. The preferred analogvideo camera 34 can operate at a minimum illumination of 3 LUX.

Analog video camera 34 can be wired in series with the light source 32.Light source 32 can be an LED light in the preferred embodiment but canalso be made form halogen, incandescent or other types of light sources.The light 32 may not be required for some applications.

Description—FIG. 3

FIG. 3 shows the flow chart 300 for checking for activation signal S1and for turning the circuit 122 and camera system 30 on and off. Thetimer circuit 110 is turned on 302 and monitored 304 by switch 120. Solong as the timer 110 is off no power 306 is applied to receiver decodercircuit 122. When the timer circuit 110 reaches a preset time, thenpower is applied to receiver decoder circuit 122 to listen 308 forsignal S1.

If the signal S1 is present 310, then the timer 112 is started 312 andpower is applied 314 to the camera system 30 for the amount of timepreset in timer 112. When the timer 112 expires 316, power is turned off318 from remote camera system 30.

Description—FIG. 4

FIG. 4 shows a timeline comparing the duration of the timer 110 to theduration of the activation signal S1. The top line T1 shows that thetimer 110 periodically activates the receiver circuit 122. The periodwhen the receiver decoder circuit 122 is turned off is T1. The lowerline shows an activation signal S1 that occurs at some time. Theduration of the activation signal is T2 which is longed that the periodT1 such that the activation signal S1 will be received no matter when itis sent because it will overlap at least one waking period for thereceiving decoder circuit 122. This conserves battery power at theremote site. The period T2 may be longer than the user holds button 22,the period T2 can be created by mechanical or electronic means from ainstant push of the button 22.

Operation of Preferred Embodiment

The remote viewing system is normally in sleep mode. Remote RFreceiver/decoder 38 in FIG. 2 is normally in standby/low powerconsumption mode waiting for a RF activation signal S1 to activate thecamera 34. The user can turn the power on for monitor 50 and receiverfor analog transmission 40 or in some cases these may be left on at alltimes and may be capable of recording a video transmission. The useractivates power button 22 on transmitter 20. Transmitter 20 then sends aradio frequency signal S1 to instantaneous remote camera system 30 asshown in FIG. 1. Instantaneous remote camera system 30 goes from lowpower-sleep mode to transmit power-on mode and transmits aninstantaneous analog image to RF receiver 40 as shown in FIG. 1. RFreceiver 40 sends the visual and sound signal to television or othermonitor 50 for viewing by the user. When the user releases power button22, the RF transmission stops when timer 112 times out and remote camerasystem 30 goes from transmit power-on mode to low power, sleep mode andthe image stops. Thus a user could push and release button 22 to receivea brief view the length of which would be set by the time set for timer112. This would give the user a brief energy conserving look, the usercould extend the video transmission S2 by holding the button 22 down.

FIG. 2 shows the details of the components of the remote camera circuit38. Remote camera circuit 38 is normally in low power consumption-sleepmode and the only component activated is timer 110. When timer 110activates receiver decoder circuit 122 it checks for a signal S1 for alength of time set on timer 110 which could be less than one second andthen allows the receiver circuit 122 to sleep for a duration of timethat can be seconds or minutes to save battery power. For example, thetransmitter 20 can be set to send an activation signal S1 that lasts for30 seconds. The timer 110 can activate the receiver decoder once every25 seconds, that is to say the duration of the sleep cycle is less thanthe duration of one activation signal. This creates an overlap where atleast a portion of any 30 second activation signal S1 must fall withinone or more of the times when the receiver decoder circuit 122 is on toreceive it.

Although the description above contains many specific details, theseshould not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but asmerely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferredembodiments of the invention. Many different battery power sources canbe used such as alkaline, nickel cadmium, lithium ion and others. Theterm battery is meant to include all battery systems known in the stateof the art. Similarly there are many different types ofreceivers/controllers, transmitters and receivers with videotransmission capabilities that are known in the state of the art thatoperate on different frequencies. The activation signal is shown asRadio Frequency RF, it could also be infrared or Microwave. Also theterm light source can include incandescent, quartz, LED, fluorescent andother types of light as are known in the state of the art. The controlsignal can come from a dedicated transmitter as shown or from cellphones, the Internet, satellite, computer, pda, mp3, mobile devices, orany other device capable of sending signals. The remote devices can bedigital, analog or a combination.

Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appendedclaims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.

1. A method for controlling a remote viewing system, comprising:powering a remote viewing system using battery power; operating theviewing system in a sleep mode; receiving an interrupt while the viewingsystem is in sleep mode; activating the viewing system responsive to theinterrupt; entering a listen mode; waiting a period of time in thelisten mode; and returning to the sleep mode after waiting in the listenmode.
 2. The method for controlling a remote viewing system according toclaim 1, wherein the interrupt is received from a sensor.
 3. The methodfor controlling a remote viewing system according to claim 1, whereinthe interrupt is received from a timer.
 4. The method for controlling aremote viewing system according to claim 3, wherein the interrupt isreceived from the timer at a rate less than about every 1 minute.
 5. Themethod for controlling a remote viewing system according to claim 3,wherein the interrupt is received from the low power time at a rate lessthan about every 10 minutes.
 6. The method for controlling a remoteviewing system according to claim 1, wherein the listen period is lessthan one second.
 7. The method for controlling a wireless imageraccording to claim 1, further including receiving an camera activationsignal during the listen period.
 8. The method for controlling awireless imager according to claim 7, further including the steps of:receiving an instruction from a control; and transmitting video signalsfrom said camera.
 9. A method for controlling a wireless camera,comprising: operating a timer while the wireless camera is in a sleepmode; receiving an interrupt from the timer; activating the wirelesscamera; entering a listen mode for no longer than a defined period oftime; waiting for a communication signal; transmitting one or moreimages responsive to the communication signal; and placing the wirelesscamera in sleep mode after transmission is completed.
 10. The methodaccording to claim 9, wherein the interrupts are received randomly. 11.The method according to claim 9, wherein the interrupts are received ata predetermined time.
 12. The method according to claim 9, wherein theinterrupts are received on a periodic basis.
 13. The method according toclaim 9, wherein the interrupts are received according to a programmabletime period.
 14. A method for controlling a wireless device, comprising:operating a timer while the wireless device is in a sleep mode;receiving an interrupt from the timer; activating the wireless devicesreceiver; entering a listen mode for a defined duration; activating saiddevice responsive to an activation signal; said activation signal havinga duration greater than said listen mode duration; and placing thewireless device in sleep mode after devices primary function iscompleted.
 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein wireless deviceis battery powered.
 16. The method according to claim 15, wherein abooster increases a voltage supplied by a battery to power said wirelessdevice.
 17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the timer isprovided by a processor.
 18. The method according to claim 17, whereinthe timer is provided by a separate circuit.
 19. The method according toclaim 18, wherein the listen duration is less than 1 second.
 20. Themethod according to claim 19, wherein power is progressively consumed asnecessary; ultra low power timer, low power receiver, higher powerdevice.